


Equilibrium

by realityIllusionist



Series: Fair Game Week [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Fair Game Week, Flirting, M/M, Mutual Pining, One Shot, Short One Shot, overuse of the em dash, technically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:15:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23172301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realityIllusionist/pseuds/realityIllusionist
Summary: Clover balances Qrow out, in small ways and in large ones.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Series: Fair Game Week [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665736
Comments: 7
Kudos: 64





	Equilibrium

For most of his life, Qrow had always been afraid of getting close to others— if his personality didn’t drive them away, his semblance surely would. Being near him was, at best, a curse. This was proven to him time and time again, as the people he loved got hurt because of him.

He built walls around himself, blocking anyone new from getting close to him, lest they be cursed too. He avoided everyone, only going on solo missions, so he was the only one who had to suffer. As much as it hurt Qrow to see the people he loved move on without him, he knew that it would be for the best. 

Eventually, he closed his heart off completely. No one could love someone like him, so he stopped trying to find anyone who would, accepting that he would be alone forever. 

And then he met Clover. 

From the second he learned about Clover’s semblance, things seemed different for him. Whenever Qrow fell, Clover was there to catch him; when his semblance would have caused Clover harm, he was able to move out of the way in time. In a way, it seemed like Clover balanced him out. Slowly, a friendship began to develop between the two of them, one that was stronger than Qrow had had in a long time. 

The closer Clover got, the more it scared him— while being anywhere near him was usually a curse, Clover treated him like he was a mystery that he couldn’t wait to untangle. Every time Qrow pushed him away, returning with just as much intensity as he had the time before. He slowly managed to worm his way into his heart, breaking down the barriers that Qrow had been carefully building up his entire life. 

Everything Qrow had ever known was suddenly flipped upside-down by one charming man. His smile was obnoxiously contagious, and Qrow couldn’t help but appreciate spending time with him. Solo missions slowly turned into joint missions, as Clover refused to leave his side. 

For the first time in a long time, Qrow could say that he had a true friend. 

Of course, his heart couldn’t leave it at that. 

Qrow found himself craving Clover’s company; he’d feel better when they talked to each other, and he’d genuinely enjoy playing card games with him, no matter how often he lost. 

Socializing was typically the bane of his existence, and yet he didn’t mind so long as it was Clover— there was something about him that made Qrow feel content for once. 

It wasn’t love though, of course; it couldn’t be! The fact that Clover was his friend was already pushing his notoriously bad luck. Anything more than that would certainly cause nothing but misery for Clover, and that was the last thing that Qrow wanted.

He did his best to keep Clover at arm’s length, but only this seemed to encourage him into redoubling his efforts. He complimented Qrow more, be it on his leadership skills or his fighting technique. Each compliment affected Qrow more than he would’ve liked to admit, causing him to fall even harder for Clover. 

Of course, he thought, Clover would never feel the same way about him. 

Right? 

Qrow was, contrary to popular belief, not an oblivious man. He knew when people were flirting with him, even if he usually brushed them off. Despite what they might 

Clover, however, didn’t seem to care, and flirted with him regardless. His hands would gently brush against Qrow’s when dealing cards; he showed off in a casually cocky way that made Qrow’s face burn, knowing fully well exactly who Clover was showing off for. Every reckless move that he made was followed by a wink or a salute, directed right at Qrow. He complimented Qrow constantly, and pointed out whenever he would dodge or brush off the compliments, doing his best to make sure that they stuck with him. 

And then there were the luck puns. As insufferable as they were, they reminded Qrow of a simple fact— Clover’s semblance was the exact opposite of his. Whereas Qrow was inherently unlucky, Clover’s luck was apparent in almost everything he did. He would perform reckless or high-risk tasks with the confidence of someone who knew exactly what the result was— and he was always right. No matter how high-risk the situation was, Clover always came out on top, even if Qrow was there. It was as if Qrow’s luck completely didn’t affect him; with every luck-based pun that Clover made after the fact, Clover obviously didn’t want him to forget it. 

The worst part, in Qrow’s opinion, was that it worked. He laughed at the dumb puns, and blushed at the flirtatious comments and winks. It was something that Qrow found himself getting used to, despite swearing up and down to himself that he hadn’t. No matter how much he tried to fight it, he was falling for Clover— hard. 

It was obvious to everyone, apparently. Ruby and Yang giggled and pointed every time they were together, and even Clover’s teammates often came up with convenient excuses to leave the two of them alone with each other.

Clover also seemed to up the flirting and charm, which led Qrow to do something he hadn’t in a very long time—

Qrow flirted back. 

The look on Clover’s face alone was worth it— wide-eyed and blushing, he looked far from his normal, composed self; although Clover was smooth and charismatic when it came to flirting, it seemed that he was easily embarrassed when he was the one being flirted with. 

Qrow found this adorable, flirting with Clover more and more often to watch him get flustered. The two of them soon engaged in what could only be called a flirting war, going back and forth constantly. Every time Clover would show off and flirt with Qrow, he would retaliate with his own flirtatious comment. 

For the first time in as long as he could remember, Qrow was having fun. He didn’t need to worry about his semblance when Clover was around, and being around Clover made him feel happy— an emotion that he usually didn’t allow himself to feel. 

Qrow was in way over his head, and yet, he had never felt better.


End file.
